Community hospitals are incredibly important to our towns and cities. Not only do they provide employment, they offer life-saving medical care. Yet if they are poorly run, these same hospitals can harm — not heal — patients.
Medical malpractice cases often focus on the actions of medical professionals, such as the doctor who missed a diagnosis or a nurse who administered the wrong medication. But hospital negligence is a growing issue in the United States. On its own or in combination with the actions of medical professionals, it can cause injuries or death.
At Winkler Kurtz, our lawyers are dedicated to assisting those injured by hospital negligence by helping them get the compensation that they deserve. You should not have to suffer because a hospital was careless. We can help you recover damages for lost wages, medical bills, and pain and suffering.
As experienced Long Island hospital negligence attorneys, we will aggressively pursue your claim, taking it to trial if necessary to achieve the best possible outcome. Contact us today at 631-928-8000 or contact us online to schedule an appointment, or to learn more about how we can help you.
What is Hospital Negligence?
Hospital negligence is a form of medical malpractice. It includes any type of action, inaction or oversight that prevents the delivery of proper care to patients, resulting in an injury. In order to qualify as hospital negligence, at least one of the following elements must generally be demonstrated:
- The negligence was committed by a hospital employee, such as a nurse, support staff or medical technician;
- The hospital’s policies either caused or failed to prevent the negligence; or
- The unsafe premises of the hospital contributed to the injuries.
Hospital negligence injuries can happen in any number of ways. Some examples include:
- Support staff mishandling patient medical records;
- Hospital failing to establish policies regarding patient monitoring, resulting in a fall;
- Poor lighting in hallways;
- Lack of security;
- Miscommunications during staff shift changes;
- Failure to adequately screen employees and independent contractors for training and licensure;
- Inadequate sterilization; or
- Nurses incorrectly inserting IV catheters.
Importantly, because many doctors are not hospital employees, their actions may not be actionable as hospital negligence. An experienced Long Island hospital negligence attorney can evaluate your case to help you determine if your situation may allow a claim against the hospital.
How to Prove Hospital Negligence
Proving hospital negligence can be challenging, as it requires an understanding of the standard of care and proper protocols among hospitals. At Winkler Kurtz, our attorneys have connections with medical experts who can evaluate hospital policies and procedures to establish a claim for hospital negligence.
After filing a claim for hospital negligence, your Long Island hospital negligence attorney will request a range of documents and other forms of evidence from the hospital and treating physicians. This may include:
- Hospital records;
- Hospital policy and procedure documents;
- Diagnostic test results;
- Video and audio recordings;
- Witness statements; and
- Your medical records.
Using this evidence, a lawyer can put together a case to demonstrate that the hospital breached its duty of care to you. For example, if the hospital routinely scheduled too few doctors in the emergency room for the number of patients typically seen in that department, this information could be evidence that its negligence led to doctors not treating you in a timely fashion.
Hospital negligence can lead to a wide range of injuries, from blood infections to brain damage to loss of limbs to fractures to death. Whatever damages you may have suffered as a result of hospital negligence, Winkler Kurtz can help you recover for your losses.
Work with a Long Island Hospital Negligence Attorney
Although compensation cannot undo the damage caused by hospital negligence, it can help patients get the support they need to get their lives back on track after an injury. Working with a Long Island hospital negligence attorney is the best way to make this happen. Your lawyer can handle the legal aspect of your claim, while you focus on your recovery.
The attorneys of Winkler Kurtz are skilled at negotiating settlements for their clients, and are prepared to take medical malpractice cases to trial when necessary to get their clients the compensation that they deserve. To learn more about how we can help or to schedule a consultation, call our office at 631-928-8000 or contact us online anytime.